Mitchell Marsh to miss Australian summer after undergoing ankle surgery
Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh will sit out the summer of cricket after undergoing ankle surgery on Thursday.
Marsh had keyhole surgery on his left ankle in Sydney to repair a longstanding injury.
The 31-year-old is expected to be sidelined for approximately three months, ruling him out for the upcoming 2022-23 Big Bash League season with the Perth Scorchers.
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Marsh is Perth's all-time leading run-scorer and was crucial to the Scorchers' championship BBL|11 season.
Mitch Marsh in action during Australia's ODI series with England last month. Getty
The club has also lost import Phil Salt due to a shoulder injury.
"Losing Mitch and Phil so close to the start of the season is very disappointing," Perth's general manager of high performance Kade Harvey said.
"Mitch is one of the best ball-strikers in global cricket with an incredible BBL record, and his leadership and presence around the group is enormous.
"Phil has proven his class for England and in T20 tournaments around the world, so it's unfortunate he won't pull on the orange this summer.
"We're under no illusions about how difficult it will be to cover the absence of Mitch and Phil, but we take pride in the depth of our squad and have a lot of players capable of stepping up."
The club is hoping to recruit local and international replacement players ahead of it's season-opener against the Sydney Sixers on December 17.
Former South African captain Faf du Plessis recently signed for the first half of Perth's campaign, replacing Englishman Laurie Evans.
Playing a part in Australia's recent T20 World Cup campaign and subsequent ODI series against England, it is understood that Marsh is preparing to be fully fit ahead of the 50-over World Cup in October next year.
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